We’re set to begin our preview of the finals, but first, let’s have a moment of silence for those who fell before us.

Thank you.

Now, let’s meet each of our finalists. I assume you’ve heard of them.

The final match is what Alex will certainly refer to as a “two-day total-point affair”.

Our trio will play two individual games. At the conclusion of the second match, the scores from each will be summed; whoever has the highest combined total will claim $1 million.

You can find all of this information in my tutorial on multi-day matches. As I point out there, the prevailing wisdom is to treat Final on the first day as a Daily Double that all three contestants get to play.

Let’s look at how each of our players have handled this limbo situation in the past. As we work from left to right on the lecterns, we see the histories get smaller.

Speaking of which: in the grand scheme of things, our players have tended toward smaller wagers. I highly doubt that will be the case in Thursday’s opener, given their aggression on Daily Doubles in previous rounds.

If I’m right, and our players go big on Day One, it will demonstrate a marked shift in strategy of how the game is played, just over the past decade or so.

(Note that the Ultimate Tournament of Champions had a three-day final match, the only time that format has been used.)